Mary Pedersen, special advisor to the provost at Colorado State University, will join the CSU School of Education as interim director. Pedersen, who will serve a two-year appointment, takes over from Albert Bimper, who has been leading the school in the interim director role since January 2023.
Bimper is leaving CSU to become the executive dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences at the University of North Texas.
Pedersen will take the reins from Bimper on July 1.
“I am thrilled to welcome Dr. Mary Pedersen to our College and to her new role as interim director of the School of Education,” said Lise Youngblade, dean of the College of Health and Human Sciences. “She brings tremendous experience to this role, and I am excited about the opportunity for the School of Education to work with her on long-term strategic planning.”
Leadership experience
Pedersen joined CSU in August 2020 as provost and executive vice president, serving in the role for two years, guiding the University through the complexities of teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic and launching CSU’s Academic Master Plan process. She came to CSU after more than 30 years at Cal Poly, where she was a professor of nutrition and held multiple leadership roles, including department head, associate dean, senior vice provost, and interim provost.
Pedersen brings extensive experience in strategic planning, budgets, student success, new program development, program review and assessment of student learning, accreditation, and other academic leadership experiences. She believes the support of the faculty and staff should be the top priority. She has worked extensively in developing mentoring programs, professional development plans for faculty, and other support programs.
“I am very honored to be working with our faculty and staff in the School of Education to collaboratively develop a strategic direction for the future,” said Pedersen. “I am excited to help create a vision for the school and make it strong and financially viable for the future of education.”
About the CSU School of Education
The CSU School of Education prepares the next generation of educators, counselors, and leaders for Colorado and beyond. The school offers a bachelor’s degree in family and consumer sciences, programs in teacher and principal preparation, and master’s degrees in counseling and career development and student affairs in higher education. In addition, the school provides master’s and Ph.D. programs in education and human resource studies with several specializations to choose from. Several degrees and certificate programs are offered online.
The School of Education is part of CSU’s College of Health and Human Sciences.
